If my ex-husband and I had been able to go the distance, last Wednesday, February 7, would have been our 31st wedding anniversary. Today is Valentine’s Day. The history of my relationships is unimportant. It’s enough to share that I’m uncoupled at present. I have not been in love for a very long time. I don’t know that I ever will be again. Either way, I’m okay. There will be no chocolates and rose petals for me today. I am no one’s Valentine. But still,…
My original plan was to write a post about what happened on the 36 bus the other night. Two women – myself and one other – were simultaneously harassed by two different men on the same bus at the same time. The story is important and speaks to the ongoing problem that women everywhere experience on a daily basis. Unfortunately, however, there isn’t anything new about the narrative. The theme is the same. Only the women, the place and the men are different. On my…
Someone I care a lot about has been going through some hard stuff this past year. She’s taken hit after relentless hit. It’s been brutal. We were talking things over the other day and she wondered out loud “How much more resilience do I have?” Fair question. Knowing her as I do, I’d say she has a lot. Although I totally get that she might not be feeling it. There are so many ways that life hurts us. And contrary to some opinions, there is…
Last week, a local organization announced the finalists for an annual vocal competition that it hosts. These finalists will sing at Jazz Alley for a shot at winning a trip to Japan. Throughout the afternoon after the announcement was made, I received emails and texts from a handful of vocalists, friends who did not make the cut. Their reactions ran the gamut from perplexed to downright miserable. (I should add that all of these women are great singers.) We talked about a lot of…
Mallory Kane “Haywire” is an action thriller about uber secret agent Mallory Kane, who is double-crossed on a covert mission in Dublin. Throughout the course of the film, she uses mad fighting skills and cool thinking to get out of harm’s way and to exact revenge on the bad guys who are doggedly out to get her. She kicks, she punches, she throws down and she shoots. She’s got a killer headlock. Her left hook is treacherous. No matter how dire…
Today’s post is about going the distance. Let’s face it: the universe does not always shower us with inspiration and flowers on a daily or, sometimes, even weekly basis. Every artist that I know occasionally goes through periods of seeming stagnation; long stretches of waiting for the phone to ring or the grant monies to come through; uncomfortable dry patches with no gigs in sight and no love from the club owners that are normally happy to book you; or an abysmally slow month…
"Our Creative Lives" is a new blog series dedicated to the examination of the creative experience. Throughout my own evolution as a writer and a vocalist, I’ve often been curious about how other artists think and feel about what they do. I am interested in everything from the inner workings of the creative psyche to the day-to-day challenges of working our craft, whatever it may be. Each month, I’ll throw out a topic, put in my two cents to get the ball rolling and then…
